S Poddar
Eli Roth’s new sci-fi movie, Borderlands, boasting a star-studded cast, received harsh criticism and shockingly low ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.
Based on the smash-hit video game, the film centers on the intergalactic bounty hunter Lilith, played by two-time Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett. When a missing girl is discovered back on her home planet, Lilith is forced to team up with a misfit band of characters. The ensemble cast also includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Gina Gershon, and Ariana Greenblatt.
Despite having such a stellar lineup, Borderlands hasn’t left the best impression on critics. A full week leading up to its release on August 9, it holds a pretty dismal four percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, showing overwhelmingly negative reviews by professionals.
For Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent, the film was a “total disaster,” Miscast and poisoned by an unclear script that manages to lose gamers and casual viewers alike. Similarly, Empire’s Dan Jolin called it a “botched Guardians of the Galaxy wannabe” in his two-star review—disorganized, overproduced.
It’s like a cynical, unbranded knockoff of Guardians of the Galaxy, only with guns instead of superpowers for its ensemble,” wrote Peter Debruge of Variety. Alison Foreman of IndieWire called Borderlands a “maddening self-contradiction.” The Telegraph’s Tim Robey wrote, “There’s fun here—with very low expectations and a ginger tolerance for some subpar CGI in act three.”.
David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter nailed it when he called it a “stale and stubbornly unexciting sci-fi action comedy” that, really, even the most die-hard video game fan would find hard to enjoy much in.
Roth is known for his low-budget horror flicks: Thanksgiving in 2023, Knock Knock in 2015, and Hostel in 2005. With Borderlands, he turned his hand to comedy, but this reception suggests this departure may not have hit the mark.
